So with the Fed about to ease for the second time in a week, traders got bullish. They decided to ignore a terrible New Housing Sales report. December sales sank -4.7 pct, reaching its lowest level since 1996. Median home prices plunged -10.4 pct to $219,200.

In any case, the DJIA (+176 +1.45 pct), S&P 500 (+23 +1.75 pct), and Nasdaq Composite (+23 +1.02 pct) rallied on strength in Financials (XLF +3.57 pct), Energy (XLE +2.27 pct) and Basic Materials (XLB +1.98 pct). The laggard was Technology (XLK +0.44 pct). Even the Russell Small Caps were up +2.00 pct to 702.39.

Despite higher oil prices, the Airlines ($XAL) lifted +3.38 pct. Similarly, the Retailers ($RLX +3.00) were strong, with traders anticipating help for consumers from the $150 billion economic stimulus package that should be passed soon by Congress. The Banks, Broker-Dealers and Insurance helped the Financials, with gains in $BKX +3.62 pct, $XBD +3.78 pct and $INSR +2.65 pct.

On the earnings front, McDonalds (MCD) 4Q net income lifted +2.6 pct to $1.27 billion vs $1.24 billion a year earlier.

On the deals front, the CME Group (CME) and Nymex Holdings (NMX) confirmed rumors that CME could purchase Nymex for $13.3 billion.

Crude Oil ($WTIC) lifted +0.28/bbl to 90.99.

The $USD dropped -0.53 pct to 75.58 as the Euro ($XEU) lifted +0.77 pct to 14779. The Yen was a little stronger +0.11 pct to 93.53.

$GOLD gained +22.10 to close at $932.80/troy oz.

Treasury yields moved a little higher.

In the futures market this morning at about 7:22am ET, the March Euro was up modestly +0.05 pct to 1.4768. Crude Oil March E-miNY’s were up +0.56 pct to 91.525. Interest rates were quiet.

Spot gold and silver this morning was up from midnight by +0.09 and +0.12 pct respectively to 928.20 and 16.67. Spot platinum however bounced back off a high of 1732.50 to fall to 1699.

Overnight, the Nikkei 225 of Japan rallied +2.99 pct and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up +0.99 pct. The day before, these indexes had crashed -3.97 pct and -4.25 pct, respectively.

Early today in Europe (7:43am ET), the FTSE is up +0.89 pct, the DAX is up +0.82 pct and the CAC +1.36 pct.

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Comments & Outlook

Traders today are focused on the FOMC, which reports tomorrow. There could be a boost as the DJIA March futures are up +17, and the tide seems to be lifting all boats. But the Fed’s decision tomorrow could be a let-down.

It pays not to guess at these things. Obviously you and I were not standing and cheering with Hank Paulson last night in the House of Representatives. We’re out of the loop. We have to see what these people would like to have markets do, and then we can react.

I’d rather be an actor, but we do what we have to do.

Yes, I still believe these rallies are counter-trend rallies in an ongoing Bear market. I understand that priming the economic pump will help, some sectors at least, but at the end of the month, too many Americans are still coming up a dollar short.

Putting a few dollars in their pockets is a tease. Put high-paying jobs back in their lives and they will take care of themselves.

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Links & Charts

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International Economics Review

US Economic Calendar.

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Knobias Cara100 Tables

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Cara 100 Daily RSI-7 Charts

At least one RSI value >70:

Ticker	Last	RSI-7M	RSI-7W	RSI-7D	Zone
ABX	53.57	87.98	71.60	73.07	Distribution Zone (for 1 days)
PBR	110.02	82.20	58.67	64.33
GG	38.38	80.91	63.68	66.02
IBN	63.93	78.26	54.33	51.98
SLW	16.88	71.47	58.14	58.47
SWK	48.91	36.73	47.18	73.70
BC	17.66	14.55	44.39	77.18	Buy alert (trig. 6 days ago [on 2008-01-18 at $15.09, +17.03% chg], after a 3 day AZ)

At least one RSI value <30:

Ticker	Last	RSI-7M	RSI-7W	RSI-7D	Zone
BC	17.66	14.55	44.39	77.18	Buy alert (trig. 6 days ago [on 2008-01-18 at $15.09, +17.03% chg], after a 3 day AZ)
KSS	43.47	17.17	38.99	60.46	Buy alert (trig. 8 days ago [on 2008-01-16 at $39.57, +9.86% chg], after a 9 day AZ)
SBUX	19.66	17.71	35.91	51.40
DELL	20.35	22.34	23.06	39.74	Buy alert (trig. 3 days ago [on 2008-01-24 at $21.09, -3.51% chg], after a 2 day AZ)
JCP	44.60	22.75	46.60	67.49
UBS	42.41	23.35	34.31	46.98	Buy alert (trig. 5 days ago [on 2008-01-22 at $40.56, +4.56% chg], after a 2 day AZ)
WAG	34.45	24.23	34.00	49.58	Buy alert (trig. 8 days ago [on 2008-01-16 at $33.24, +3.64% chg], after a 2 day AZ)
SNDK	25.89	25.30	12.46	32.25	Buy alert (trig. 1 days ago [on 2008-01-28 at $25.89, +0.00% chg], after a 1 day AZ)
TGP	28.16	28.16	30.72	30.19
TM	102.20	28.60	33.37	54.51	Buy alert (trig. 4 days ago [on 2008-01-23 at $99.25, +2.97% chg], after a 1 day AZ)
HBC	75.56	28.82	22.55	40.01	Buy alert (trig. 4 days ago [on 2008-01-23 at $76.62, -1.38% chg], after a 4 day AZ)
BBBY	30.65	29.74	54.40	65.46
PAYX	33.70	29.77	21.52	51.99	Buy alert (trig. 4 days ago [on 2008-01-23 at $33.34, +1.08% chg], after a 1 day AZ)
GOL	18.94	31.32	21.64	36.88	Buy alert (trig. 1 days ago [on 2008-01-28 at $18.94, +0.00% chg], after a 1 day AZ)
BA	77.60	32.13	22.45	37.46	Buy alert (trig. 3 days ago [on 2008-01-24 at $77.62, -0.03% chg], after a 1 day AZ)
BMY	23.59	32.66	22.04	37.05	Buy alert (trig. 1 days ago [on 2008-01-28 at $23.59, +0.00% chg], after a 4 day AZ)
YHOO	20.78	33.12	24.91	39.00	Buy alert (trig. 6 days ago [on 2008-01-18 at $20.78, +0.00% chg], after a 1 day AZ)
LLTC	27.66	33.16	23.87	41.12	Buy alert (trig. 4 days ago [on 2008-01-23 at $28.05, -1.39% chg], after a 2 day AZ)
DIS	29.37	34.07	29.16	47.80	Buy alert (trig. 4 days ago [on 2008-01-23 at $28.52, +2.98% chg], after a 2 day AZ)
DB	114.89	35.71	28.24	41.64
CCJ	34.42	36.47	28.86	31.17
ADBE	35.15	36.81	20.46	30.60
CSCO	24.10	36.97	19.73	37.43
GSK	47.63	37.26	34.58	26.43
ERTS	46.19	38.51	22.21	20.99
INTC	20.29	39.08	29.36	42.18
GE	34.72	39.54	29.26	49.29
STO	26.40	40.44	26.32	41.34
PTR	147.70	47.08	26.67	32.54
PG	65.29	48.08	24.63	19.30
TOT	73.23	48.39	29.95	33.65
JNJ	63.07	48.83	32.13	23.21
GOOG	555.98	49.67	27.78	26.37

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International Equity Markets Review

Europe

Here is the latest session data for the bourses of Europe.

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Here is the latest session data for the London stock exchange FTSE.

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Here is the latest session data for the German DAX.

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Here is the latest session data for the French CAC 40.

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Here is the latest session data for the Milan Italy stock exchange MIBTEL.

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Here is the latest session data for the Swiss market index.

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Asia-Pacific

Here is the latest session data for the Asia-Pacific stock exchanges.

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Here is the latest chart for the Japanese Nikkei 225 index.

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Here is the latest chart for the Singapore index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Shanghai Composite index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Hong Kong Hang Seng index .

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Here is the latest chart for the India BSE 30 index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Australian All Ordinaries index .

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US Equity Markets Review

DJIA (interactive) chart

NASDAQ Composite (interactive) chart

Table: Dow 30 List

Sorted by 1-Week Price Performance

Symbol	Close	1Day Change	1Day %Change	1W %Change	2W %Change	4W %Change	YTD %Change	3M %Change	6M %Change	12M %Change
JPM	45.57	1.93	4.42%	15.66%	11.53%	4.42%	8.06%	-3.70%	3.03%	-8.31%
C	27.65	1.01	3.79%	13.09%	-3.19%	-6.46%	-4.39%	-35.14%	-41.13%	-49.42%
GM	26.53	0.74	2.87%	12.80%	12.89%	1.80%	8.68%	-29.76%	-14.69%	-19.44%
HD	29.14	0.61	2.14%	10.88%	17.93%	8.85%	11.60%	-7.05%	-20.71%	-27.04%
AXP	47.40	1.96	4.31%	8.69%	7.73%	-7.24%	-7.13%	-21.87%	-19.04%	-18.06%
CAT	68.21	2.28	3.46%	8.60%	3.33%	-6.21%	-3.43%	-9.10%	-10.27%	11.65%
UTX	73.73	0.98	1.35%	8.35%	2.86%	-4.05%	-1.97%	-2.27%	0.60%	11.64%
AA	31.47	0.78	2.54%	8.14%	-0.82%	-14.92%	-12.90%	-20.03%	-15.88%	-1.87%
INTC	20.29	0.29	1.45%	6.79%	-7.73%	-24.38%	-19.96%	-21.78%	-13.81%	-1.17%
HON	58.92	0.67	1.15%	6.55%	3.73%	-3.71%	-1.64%	-0.87%	0.53%	33.51%
AIG	54.75	1.53	2.87%	5.19%	-5.08%	-5.62%	-2.75%	-11.91%	-16.23%	-20.18%
DD	44.84	0.12	0.27%	5.01%	0.40%	0.99%	2.51%	-7.30%	-4.23%	-8.84%
MMM	77.44	1.93	2.56%	3.38%	-0.18%	-9.32%	-6.37%	-10.09%	-14.00%	-1.59%
DIS	29.37	0.69	2.41%	3.02%	-3.13%	-9.44%	-7.76%	-14.57%	-12.95%	-14.99%
WMT	48.71	0.62	1.29%	2.37%	2.07%	1.97%	3.86%	9.12%	6.03%	2.18%
PFE	22.99	0.38	1.68%	2.13%	-4.29%	0.31%	0.35%	-5.43%	-3.36%	-12.55%
IBM	104.98	0.46	0.44%	1.53%	7.48%	-4.22%	0.28%	-7.69%	-9.20%	7.73%
GE	34.72	0.72	2.12%	1.19%	-1.28%	-6.64%	-5.55%	-14.02%	-10.49%	-3.74%
T	36.40	1.14	3.23%	0.80%	-4.71%	-13.37%	-11.22%	-12.20%	-7.24%	0.00%
HPQ	43.80	0.06	0.14%	0.11%	-2.67%	-15.13%	-12.07%	-16.52%	-5.73%	5.06%
XOM	85.13	1.19	1.42%	0.06%	-5.73%	-9.12%	-8.96%	-7.68%	-0.54%	15.65%
MO	75.01	1.06	1.43%	-0.54%	-5.07%	-1.60%	0.11%	2.80%	15.10%	13.58%
MSFT	32.72	-0.22	-0.67%	-0.88%	-3.51%	-9.04%	-7.10%	-6.59%	11.33%	6.93%
BA	77.60	0.57	0.74%	-1.02%	-3.63%	-12.69%	-10.41%	-19.18%	-25.18%	-9.17%
KO	59.41	1.00	1.71%	-2.19%	-6.84%	-4.64%	-2.75%	-3.51%	13.64%	24.21%
VZ	38.11	0.35	0.93%	-2.51%	-10.33%	-14.13%	-11.80%	-16.43%	-9.26%	0.74%
MCD	51.07	-3.03	-5.60%	-2.54%	-5.98%	-13.72%	-12.10%	-12.66%	4.74%	18.96%
PG	65.29	-0.02	-0.03%	-2.77%	-6.97%	-11.64%	-9.71%	-9.00%	3.93%	0.66%
JNJ	63.07	0.61	0.98%	-4.86%	-7.09%	-6.33%	-4.31%	-1.91%	5.52%	-4.54%
MRK	49.25	1.46	3.06%	-7.63%	-18.66%	-15.91%	-14.15%	-14.47%	-1.74%	7.09%

You can do this table yourself by entering the following string into the Summaries window at www.billcara2.com and then clicking on the link for Performance.

AA AIG AXP BA C CAT DD DIS GE GM HD HON HPQ IBM INTC JNJ JPM KO MCD MMM MO MRK MSFT PFE PG T UTX VZ WMT XOM

Here are the links to interactive Dow charts from Billcara2.com that I broke into groups of ten, which you can add technical indicators for as well. (list one) (list two) (list three)

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The Americas

Here is the latest session data for the exchanges of the Americas.

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Here is the latest chart for the Brazilian Bovespa stock exchange in Sao Paulo.

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Here is the latest session data for the Toronto Stock Exchange composite index.

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Sector ETF Summary for the US equity market

The tables I show in this section are for ten (GICS) Sector Index Funds (ETF's) only, but they cover the full spectrum of the US equity market.

Table 1: Cara ETF List is sorted by price performance Week over Week (W/W), i.e. 1W%N.

Sorted by 1-Week Price Performance

Symbol	Close	1Day Change	1Day %Change	1W %Change	2W %Change	4W %Change	YTD %Change	3M %Change	6M %Change	12M %Change
XLF	28.15	0.97	3.57%	10.39%	2.18%	-2.96%	-0.74%	-16.44%	-15.59%	-23.55%
XLY	31.35	0.49	1.59%	6.20%	3.67%	-4.88%	-2.64%	-13.97%	-15.36%	-19.26%
XLB	39.20	0.76	1.98%	4.95%	-1.95%	-6.78%	-5.08%	-9.28%	0.75%	8.65%
XLI	36.37	0.57	1.59%	4.87%	0.00%	-7.64%	-5.56%	-9.75%	-6.86%	3.29%
SMH	28.66	0.64	2.28%	2.69%	1.63%	-12.46%	-8.61%	-15.18%	-24.04%	-15.26%
XLE	70.26	1.56	2.27%	1.97%	-7.08%	-11.82%	-11.62%	-8.69%	2.57%	23.59%
IYZ	25.60	0.62	2.48%	1.51%	-6.30%	-14.27%	-12.24%	-21.01%	-23.01%	-15.26%
XLP	26.91	0.21	0.79%	-0.88%	-4.81%	-6.95%	-5.21%	-5.05%	1.78%	1.59%
XLU	38.70	0.52	1.36%<